St. John's @ Seton Hall preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 18, 2020 ) Seton Hall 82, St. John's 79

No. 14 Seton Hall is off to its best start in Big East play in program history, but the Pirates find themselves just one game ahead of Creighton and Villanova after a rough stretch. With games against three ranked teams awaiting to close the regular season, the Pirates can’t afford to slip up when St. John’s visits Sunday.

Sandro Mamukelashvili scored at the buzzer on an alley-oop inbounds pass by Quincy McKnight as the Pirates snapped a two-game losing streak with a 74-72 win against Butler on Wednesday. No. 19 Marquette, No 13 Villanova and No. 15 Creighton await the Pirates after the Red Storm - a three-game stretch that will likely determine the Big East title. “We have it as hard as anybody, and I think every win this time of year is great. From Big East seeding, NCAA Tournament seeding, all that stuff,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said. The Red Storm have lost five of six road games in Big East play with their lone win coming at DePaul, and they are looking to rebound from a 77-74 home loss to Xavier on Monday.

TIME: 2 p.m. ET. TV: CBS

ABOUT ST. JOHN'S (14-12, 3-10 Big East): A transition dunk by Nick Rutherford with just over two minutes left gave the Red Storm a 74-69 lead, but the Musketeers scored the final eight points of the game at Madison Square Garden. Rutherford (5.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals - second in Big East) scored 14 of season-high 16 points in the first half, added seven assists - one shy of his season-high - and three steals in 26 minutes. Marcellus Earlington (9.1 points, 4.7 rebounds) had 17 points and eight rebounds, and the sophomore forward is the Red Storm's leading scorer (18.0 points) and rebounder (8.0) over the last three games.

ABOUT SETON HALL (19-7, 11-3): McKnight (12.1 points, 5.3 rebounds), is averaging 16.5 points on just 35 percent shooting in his last four games, making up for it by going 32-of-35 from the foul line to take over the league lead in free-throw percentage (85.3). Myles Powell (21.4 points - second in Big East), a national player of the year candidate, is averaging 21.6 points but shooting just 25 percent beyond the arc in 14 Big East games. Romaro Gill (7.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.5 blocks - tops in Big East) had 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks against the Red Storm after scoring single-digit scoring in five of the previous six games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. St. John's leads the all-time series 60-42, and the programs have played every season since the 1963-64 campaign. Seton Hall is 38-11 in home games and have won the last five at home.

2. In the first matchup this season, Powell scored 23 of his 29 points in the second half as the Pirates rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit. LJ Figueroa had 16 points, five rebounds and seven steals for the Red Storm.

3. The Pirates trailed at the half for the fourth straight game against Butler and for the fifth time in their last six games.

PREDICTION: Seton Hall 77, St. John's 63